1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of video communication. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system and method for automatically obscuring a portion of a video signal during videoconferencing.
2. Description of Related Background Art
Videoconferencing is rapidly becoming the communication method-of-choice for remote parties who wish to approximate face-to-face contact without the time and expense of travel. As bandwidth limitations cease to become a concern, a greater number of traditionally face-to-face events, such as business meetings, family discussions, and shopping, may be expected to take place through videoconferencing.
Unfortunately, despite the convenience, many people are still hesitant to participate in videoconferencing because they have little or no control over what the other party sees. A user may wish to hide his or her environment, other people, or even a portion of his or her own body from the other person.
In response to such a need, schemes for background removal and replacement have been developed. Known techniques typically use chromakeying (e.g., blue-screening or green-screening), background subtraction, motion analysis, or other similar computational methods to display a person while hiding the remainder of the scene. Unfortunately, such methods are problematic in a number of ways.
Often, known background alteration schemes are computationally intensive. Hence, exceptionally powerful computing hardware is often required to avoid a noticeable delay between signal capture and signal transmission. Furthermore, such schemes often require the use of additional equipment, such as colored screens, additional cameras, specialized lighting, and other devices that are cumbersome, expensive, and generally ill-suited to a home environment.
Even with the necessary equipment, such systems are often subject to unpredictable results. For example, in a typical chromakeying system, if the user is wearing an item of clothing that is the same color as the matte background, the clothing will be altered together with the background. Background subtraction systems may provide similar results if the person is wearing a similar color and/or pattern to that of the background image. Motion sensitive systems may improperly key on extraneous motion within the frame, and may even alter the image of a user that moves too little during videoconferencing.
Additionally, known systems often provide too little user control. For example, a user may wish to include a portion of the background within the image to show other people or objects. Conversely, the user may wish to exclude a portion of themselves from the image, particularly if the user is not fully dressed or is engaged in activities, such as wrapping gifts, that they wish to hide from the other party. Known systems typically lack such control; the user is unable to show more or less than the portion of the image selected by the applied computational method.
Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for reliably and consistently obscuring a portion of a video signal. Such a system and method should be usable in videoconferencing applications, and should not require the use of expensive, cumbersome, or inconvenient equipment. Furthermore, such a system and method should provide the user with at least a general level of control over what is obscured.